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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

BERKELEY,   CAL. 


E.   W.    HILGARD,    Director.  BULLETIN    No.  119. 

DECEMBER,  1897. 


VINE   PRUNING 

By  F.  T.  BIOI.ETTI. 


The  literature  relating  to  the  pruning  and  training  of  the  vine  is 
already  very  voluminous,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  one  work  which 
treats  the  subject  in  a  thorough  and  convenient  way  for  California 
vine-growers.  Publications  in  English  refer  generally  to  methods 
suited  to  the  Eastern  States  or  to  hot-house  cultivation,  while  for- 
eign publications,  besides  being  more  or  less  inaccessible,  treat  the 
subject  so  widely  that  the  grower  is  at  a  loss  what  to  choose  from 
such  a  mass  of  material.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  Bulletin,  there- 
fore, to  present  a  brief  summary  of  what  in  foreign  methods  seems 
useful  and  applicable  to  California  conditions,  together  with  the 
results  of  experiments  on  the  University  of  California  vine  plots,  and 
of  observations  made  in  numerou  s  vineyards  in  various  regions  of 
the  State. 

_  Almost  every  vine-growing  district  has  its  peculiar  systems  of 
training,  ranging  from  the  non-training  usual  in  parts  of  Italy,  where 
the  vine  spreads  almost  at  will  over  trees  planted  for  the  purpose,  to 
the  acme  of  mutilation  practiced  in  many  localities  where  the  vine 
is  reduced  to  a  mere  stump  barely  rising  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  These  various  systems  will  not  be  discussed  here,  but  only 
those  which  experience  has  shown  to  be  most  adapted  to  California 
conditions. 

No  account,  however  detailed,  of  any  system  can  replace  the  in- 
telligence of  the  cultivator.  For  this  reason  the  general  principles  of 
plant  physiology  which  underlie  all  proper  pruning  and  training  are 
discussed  in  connection  with  the  several  systems  described.  This 
should  aid  the  grower  in  choosing  that  system  most  suited  to  the  con- 
ditions of  his  vineyard,  and  to  modify  it  to    suit    special    conditions 


and  seasons.  All  the  operations  of  pruning,  tying,  staking,  etc.,  to 
which  a  cultivated  vine  owes  its  form,  are  conveniently  considered 
together. 

No  cultivated  plant  is  susceptible  of  such  a  variety  of  modes 
of  training  as  the  vine,  and  none  can  withstand  such  an  amount  of 
abuse  in  this  matter  and  such  radical  interference  with  its  natural 
mode  of  growth.  On  the  other  hand,  no  other  plant,  perhaps,  is  so 
sensitive  to  proper  treatment,  or  responds  so  readily  to  a  rational 
mode  of  pruning  and  training. 

OBJECTS  OF  PRUNING.— The  objects  of  pruning  are  (a) 
to  facilitate  cultivation  and  gathering,  (b)  to  increase  the  average 
yield,  and  (c)  to  improve  the  quality  of  fruit.  The  vine  must  not 
be  trained  so  high  that  the  grapes  are  difficult  to  gather,  nor  al- 
lowed to  spread  its  arms  so  wide  that  the  cultivation  of  the  ground 
is  unduly  interfered  with.  Vines  untouched  by  the  pruner's  knife 
bear  irregularly;  a  year  of  over-bearing  being  followed  by  several  of 
under-bearing  as  a  consequence  of  exhaustion  caused  by  a  too  severe 
drain  on  the  reserve  forces  of  the  plant.  The  grapes  on  untrained  or 
improperly  trained  vines  are  exposed  to  different  conditions  of  heat 
and  light,  and  consequently  develop  and  ripen  unevenly. 

PHYSIOLOGICAL  PRINCIPLES.— The  main  facts  regard- 
ing the  physiology  of  the  vine  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  this  connection 
are: 

i.  The  vine  feeds  by  means  of  the  green  coloring  matter  (chloro- 
phyll) of  its  leaves.  It  obtains  the  sugar,  starch,  etc.,  which  it  needs 
from  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air  which  is  converted  into  these  sub- 
stances by  the  chlorophyll  under  the  influence  of  light.  A  certain 
amount  of  green  leaf  surface  functioning  for  a  certain  time  is  neces- 
sary to  produce  sufficient  nourishment  for  the  vital  needs  of  the  vine 
and  for  the  production  of  a  crop.  Those  leaves  most  exposed  to  the 
direct  rays  of  the  sun  are  most  active  in  absorbing  food.  The 
youngest  leaves  take  all  their  nourishment  from  the  older  parts  of 
the  plant:  somewhat  older  leaves  use  up  more  nutrient  material  in 
growing  than  they  absorb  from  the  air.  A  young  shoot  may  thus  be 
looked  upon  as,  in  a  sense,  parasitic  upon  the  rest  of  the  vine.  The 
true  feeders  of  the  vine  and  of  its  crop  are  the  mature,  dark- green 
leaves. 

2.  Within  certain  limits  the  fruitfulness  of  a  vine  or  of  a  part 
of  a  vine  is  inversely  proportional  to  its  vegetative  vigor.  Methods 
which  tend  to  increase  the  vegetative  vigor  of  a  vine  or  of  a  part 
of  a  vine  tend  to  diminish  its  bearing  qualities,  while,  on  the  con- 
trary, anything  which  diminishes  vegetative  vigor  tends  to  increase 
fruitfulness.  Failure  to  reckon  with  this  fact  and  to  maintain  a 
proper  mean  between  the  two  extremes  leads,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
comparative  sterility,  and,  on  the  other,  to  over-bearing  and  prema- 
ture exhaustion. 

3.  The  vine  tends  to  force  out  terminal  buds  and  to  expend  most 
of  its  energy  on  the  shoots  farthest  from  the  trunk.  To  keep  the 
vine  within  practical  limits,  this  tendency  must  be  controlled  by  the 
removal  of  the  terminal  buds,  or  bv  measures  which  check  the  flow 
of  sap   and  force  the  growth  of  buds  nearer  the  stock. 


3 

4.  The  nearer  a  shoot  approaches  the  vertical  the  more  vigorous 
it  will  be. 

5.  The  size  of  shoots  and  of  fruit  is,  within  certain  limits,  in- 
versely as  their  amount.  That  is,  with  a  given  vine,  or  arm  of  a 
vine,  the  fewer  shoots  allowed  to  grow  the  larger  each  will  be,  and 
the  same  is  true  of  bunches  of  fruit. 

6.  Other  conditions  being  equal,  an  excess  of  foliage  is  accom- 
panied by  a  small  amount  of  fruit;  an  excess  of  fruit  by  diminished 
foliage. 

7.  Shoots  coming  from  one-year-old  wood  growing  out  of  two- 
year-old  wood  are  alone  to  be  depended  on  for  fruit.  Other  shoots  are 
usually  sterile. 


8.  Bending,  twisting  or  otherwise  injuring  the  tissues  of  the 
vine  or  its  branches  tend  to  diminish  its  vegetative  vigor,  and  there- 
fore, unless  excessive,  to  increase  its  fertility. 

A  description  of  a  typical  vine  giving  the  names  of  the  principal 
parts,  will  make  clear  the  accounts  of  methods  to  be  given  later. 
Fig.  i  represents  a  vine  of  no  particular  order  of  pruning,  showing 
the  various  parts.  The  main  body  of  the  vine  (T)  is  called  the 
trunk  or  stem;  the  principal  divisions  (B)  branches;  the  smaller  di- 
visions (A)  arms,  and  the  ultimate  ramifications  (C)  shoots  when 
green,  and  canes  when  mature.  A  shoot  growing  out  of  the  vine 
above  ground  on  any  part  older  than  one  year  (WS)  is  called  a 
water  sprout.  Shoots  coming  from  any  part  of  the  vine  below 
ground  (S)  are  called  suckers.  When  a  cane  is  cut  back  to  1,  2,  3, 
or  4  eyes  it  is  called  a  spur  (R). 

When  a  shoot  or  cane  of  one  season  sends  out  a  secondary  shoot 
the  same  season,  the  latter  (L)  is  called  a  lateral. 

Fig.  II  represents  an  arm  of  a  vine  as  it  appears  in  winter  after 
the  leaves  have  fallen.  The  canes  (Wi)  are  the  matured  shoots  of 
the  previous  spring.  W2,  W3,  W4  represent  2,  3,  and  4-year-old 
wood  respectively.  Near  the  base  of  each  cane  is  a  basal  bud  or 
eye  (B°).  In  counting  the  number  of  eyes  on  a  spur  the  basal  eye 
is  not  included.  A  cane  cut  at  Ki  for  instance  leaves  a  spur  of 
one  eye,  at  K2  a  spur  of  two  eyes  and  so  on.  When  more  than  four 
eyes  are  left  the  piece  is  generally  called  a  fruiting  cane  (Fig.  I,  F). 
The  canes  (C,Ci)  coming  from  two-year     old     wood     (W2)     possess 


fruit  buds;  that  is,  they  are  capable  ,  of  producing  fruit  -  bearing- 
shoots.  Water  sprouts  (WS)  and  suckers  (S)  do  not  ordinarily 
produce  fruit-bearing  shoots.  Below  the  basal  bud  each  cane  has 
one  or  more  dormant  buds  (b  Fig.  Ill)  which  do  not  grow  unless 
the  number  of  eyes  left  by  pruning  or  frost  is  insufficient  to  relieve 


the  excess  of  sap  pressure.  These  buds  produce  sterile  shoots. 
Each  eye  on  a  cane  has,  at  its  base,  two  dormant  buds.  One  of  these 
sometimes  grows  out  the  year  it  is  formed,  making  a  lateral  (L, 
Figs.  I,  II).  These  laterals  may  send  out  secondary  laterals  (SL, 
Fig.  I).  It  is  on  the  laterals  and  secondary  laterals  that  the  so-called 
second  and  third  crops  are  borne. 

PRUNING  FOR  WOOD  AND  FOR  FRUIT.— One  of  the 
chief  aims  of  pruning  is  to  maintain  a  just  equilibrium  between  vege- 
tative vigor  and  fertility.  We  must,  then,  prune  for  both  wood  and 
fruit.  A  vine  which  has  become  enfeebled  by  over-bearing  should 
be  pruned  for  wood.  By  this  is  meant  that  only  a  small  number  of 
buds  should  be  left.  As  all  the  energies  of  the  vine  have  to  be  ex- 
pended on  a  small  number  of  shoots,  these  shoots  grow  with  more 
than  ordinary  vigor.  Under  these  conditions  the  vine  bears  little; 
first,  because  the  eyes  near  the  bases  of  the  canes,  which  are  the  only 
ones  left  in  very  short  pruning,  a  re  naturally  less  fruitful  than  those 
farther  removed  from  the  main  body  of  the  vine;  and  second,  because 
an  exceptionally  vigorous  shoot  is  generally  sterile.  The  vine  is  thus 
strengthened,  and,  as  the  stores  of  nutriment  provided  by  a  vigorous 
vegetation  are  not  drawn  upon  by  a  heavy  crop,  the  increased  vigor 
of  the  vine  is  more  marked  the  second  year.  The  second  year,  there- 
fore, more  wood  may  be  left  and  the  crop  increased  without  detri- 
ment to  the  vine. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  vine  which  "  goes  to  wood  "  must  be 
pruned  for  fruit.  For  this  purpose  we  increase  the  number  of  buds 
left  and  choose  the  most  fruitful  wood.  The  largest  canes  are  the 
least  fruitful,  while  the  smallest  have  not  the  necessary  vigor  to  sup- 


port  a  large  crop.     The  best  cane  to  leave  for  fruit  then  is  one  of 
medium  size,  with  well-formed  eyes. 

PROPER  METHOD  OF  MAKING  CUTS.— It  is  by  no 
means  a  matter  of  indifference  just 
where  the  cut  is  made  in 'removing 
a  cane  or  arm.  This  will  be  made 
clearer  by  referring  to  Fig.  III. 
The  upper  part  of  the  spur  is  rep- 
resented as  split  in  two  longitudi- 
nally in  order  to  show  the  internal 
structure  of  the  cane.  It  will  be 
noted  that  at  each  bud  there  isa 
slight  swelling  of  the  cane.  This 
is  called  a  node,  and  the  space  be- 
tween an  internode.  The  inter- 
nodes  are  filled  with  soft  pith,  but 
at  each  node  there  is  a  growth  of 
hard  wood  extending  through  the 
cane.  Now,  if  the  cane  be  cut  ofi 
at C i,  in  the  middle  of  an  internode, 
the  pith  will  shrink  away  and  leave 
a  little  hollow  in  which  the  rain 
collects.  This  is  an  excellent  breed- 
ing place  for  fungi  and  bacteria, 
which  cause  rotting  of  the  pith  and 
frequently  kill  the  bud.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  cane  be  cut  at  C2, 
through  a  node,  a  protecting  cover  of  hard  wood  is  left,  which  is  an 
effectual  barrier  against  decay  organisms.  If  a  spur  projects  too 
far  from  the  vine  and  it  is  desirable  to  make  it  as  short  as  possible 
in  order  not  to  interfere  with  cultivation,  it  should  be  cut  at  C  and 
the  cut  made  as  nearly  vertical  as  possible.  This  allows  the  water 
to  run  off,  and  leaves  less  pith  to  foster  the  growth  of  the  fungi.  At 
the  base  of  the  cane  there  is  a  slight  enlargement  (E).  In  removing 
a  cane  completely  the  cut  should  be  made  just  above  this  enlarge- 
ment. This  is  the  most  favorable  place  for  healing,  as  it  makes  the 
smallest  possible  wound  and  does  not  leave  a  projecting  stump  of 
dead  wood  to  prevent  the  healing  tissues  from  closing  over  the 
wound.  In  removing  a  piece  of  older  wood,  as  at  K  °  and  Ti,  Fig. 
II,  it  is  advisable  not  to  cut  too  close  for  fear  of  injuring  the  spur 
by  the  drying  out  of  the  wood.  The  projecting  pieces  of  dead 
wood  left  in  this  way  should  be  carefully  removed  the  next  year  in 
order  to  allow  the  wound  to  heal  over.  The  large  cuts  which  are 
thus  occasionally  necessary  are  most  easily  performed  by  means  of  a 
well-made  and  well-sharpened  pair  of  two-hand  pruning  shears.  These 
shears  are  often  to  be  preferred  to  the  ordinary  one-hand  shears  be- 
cause they  render  the  cutting  through  the  nodes  easier  and  do  away 
almost  entirely  with  the  necessity  of  a  saw.  Of  course,  a  careless 
workman  may  split  and  injure  vines  seriously  by  using  long-han- 
dled shears  clumsily,  but  the  bending  of  arms  to  facilitate  cutting 
with  the  one-hand  shears  often  results  in  the  same  evil.  The  one- 
hand  shears,  however,  are  more  convenient  when  many  long  fruit- 


ing  canes  are  left,  as  the  necessary  trimming  off  of  tendrils  and  lat- 
erals is  more  easily  performed  with  them. 

SHORT  AND  LONG  PRUNING.  — The  winter-pruning  of 
the  vine  consists  in  cutting  off  a  certain  amount  of  the  mature  wood 
of  the  immediately  preceding  season's  growth  (canes),  and  occa- 
sionally of  the  older  wood.  The  main  problem  of  winter-pruning, 
then,  resolves  itself  into  determining  how  much  and  what  wood  shall 
be  left.  In  all  kinds  of  pruning  most  of  the  canes  are  removed  en- 
tirely. In  short-pruning,  the  remainder  are  cut  back  to  spurs  of  one, 
two  or  three  eyes.  The  number  of  spurs  is  regulated  by  the  vigor 
and  age  of  the  vine.  This  mode  of  pruning  can  be  used  only  for 
varieties  in  which  the  eyes  near  the  base  of  the  cane  are  fruitful. 
For  all  other  cases  long  or  half-long  pruning  is  necessary. 

In  half -long  pruning  certain  canes  are  left  with  from  four  to  six 
eyes,  according  to  the  length  of  the  internodes.  These  canes  or  fruit- 
spurs  will  bear  more  fruit  than  short  spurs  for  three  reasons:  I,  be- 
cause there  will  be  more  fruit-bearing  shoots;  2,  because  the  upper 
eyes  are  more  fruitful  than  the  lower;  and  3,  because  a  larger  num- 
ber of  eyes  being  supplied  with  sap  from  the  same  arm,  each  shoot 
will  be  less  vigorous  and  therefore  more  fruitful.  Owing,  however, 
to  the  tendency  of  the  vine  to  expend  the  principal  part  of  its  vigor 
on  the  shoots  farthest  removed  from  the  base  of  the  canes,  the  lower 
eyes  on  the  long  spurs  will  generally  produce  very  feeble  shoots.  In 
order,  then,  to  obtain  spurs  of  sufficient  vigor  for  the  next  year's  crop 
it  would  be  necessary  to  choose  them  near  the  ends  of  the  long  spurs 
of  the  previous  year,  if  no  others  were  left.  This  would  result  in  a 
rapid  and  inconvenient  elongation  of  the  arms.  In  order  to  avoid 
this  it  is  necessary  to  leave  a  spur  of  one  or  two  eyes  below  each 
long  fruiting  spur,  that  is  to  say,  nearer  the  trunk.  These  short  wood 
spurs  having  only  one  or  two  eyes,  will  produce  vigorous  canes  for 
the  following  year,  and  the  spurs  which  have  borne  fruit  may  be  re- 
moved altogether,  thus  preventing  an  undue  elongation  of  the  arms. 
In  half-long  pruning,  however,  it  is  very  hard  to  retain  the  proper 
equilibrium  between  vigor  and  fruitfulness.  If  a  little  too  much  wood 
is  left  the  shoots  from  the  wood  spurs  will  not  develop  sufficiently,  and 
the  next  year  we  have  to  choose  between  leaving  small  under-sized 
spurs  near  the  trunk  and  spurs  of  proper  size  too  far  removed  from 
the  trunk.  In  long  pruning  this  difficulty,  as  will  be  seen,  is  to  a 
great  extent  avoided. 

In  long  pruning  the  fruit  spurs  of  half-long  pruning  are  re- 
placed by  long  fruit  canes.  These  are  left  two  or  three  feet  long,  or 
longer.  The  danger  here  that  the  vine  will  expend  all  its  energies 
on  the  terminal  buds  of  these  long  canes  and  leave  the  eyes  of  the 
wood  spurs  undeveloped  is  still  greater  than  in  half-long  pruning. 
This  difficulty  is  overcome  by  bending  or  twisting  the  fftift  canes  in 
some  manner.  This  bending  causes  a  certain  amount  of  injury  to  the 
tissues  of  the  canes,  which  tends  to  check  the  flow  of  sap  towards 
their  ends.  The  sap  pressure  thus  increases  in  the  lower  buds  and 
forces  them  out  into  strong  shoots  to  be  used  for  spurs  for  the  next 
pruning.  The  bending  has  the  further  effect  of  diminishing  the  vigor 
of  the  shoots  on  the  fruit  canes  and  thus  increasing  their  fruitfulness. 


This  principle  of  increase  of  fruitfulness  by  mechanical  injury 
is  very  useful  if  properly  understood  and  applied.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  vines  attacked  by  phylloxera  or  root  rot  will  for  one  year 
bear  an  exceptionally  large  crop  on  account  of  the  diminution  of 
vigor  caused  by  the  injury  to  their  roots;  A  vine  also  which  has  been 
mutilated  by  the  removal  of  several  large  arms  will  often  produce 
heavily  the  following  year.  In  all  these  cases,  however,  the  transient 
gain  is  more  than  counter-balanced  by  the  permanent  injury  and 
loss.  The  proper  application  of  the  principle  is  to  injure  tissues  only 
of  those  parts  of  the  plant  which  it  is  intended  to  remove  the  next 
year  (fruit  canes),  and  thus  increase  fruitfulness  without  doing  any 
permanent  injurv  to  the  plant. 

PRUNING  OF  YOUNG  VINES.— When  a  footed  vine 
is  first  planted,  it  should  be  cut  back  to  two  eyes.  If  the 
growth  is  not  very  good  the  first  season,  all  the  canes  but 
one  should  be  removed  at  the  first  pruning,  and  that  one 
left  with  two  or  three  eyes,  according  to  its  strength.  The 
next  year,  or  the  same  year  in  the  case  of  strong  grow- 
ing vines  in  rich  soil,  the  strongest  cane  should  be  left  about  \2 
inches  long  and  tied  up  to  the  stake  The  next  year  two  spurs  may  be 
left,  of  two  or  three  eyes  each.  These  spurs  will  determine  the  posi- 
tion of  the  head  or  place  from  which  the  arms  of  the  vine  spring.  It 
is  important,  therefore,  that  they  should  be  chosen  at  the  right  height 
from  the  ground.  From  ten  to  twenty  inches  is  about  the  right 
height;  the  lowest  for  dry  hillsides  where  there  is  no  danger  of  frost; 
the  highest  for  rich  bottom  lands  where  the  vine  will  naturally  grow 
large.  Vines  grown  without  stakes  will  have  to  be  headed  lower  than 
this  in  order  to  make  them  support  themselves.  In  the  following  few 
years  the  number  of  spurs  should  be  increased  gradually,  care  being 
taken  to  shape  the  vine  properly  and  to  maintain  an  equal  balance  of 
the  arms. 

In  general,  young  vines  are  more  vigorous  than  old,  and  tend 
more  to  send  out  shoots  from  basal  and  dormant  buds.  They  should, 
therefore,  be  given  more  and  longer  spurs  in  proportion  than  older 
vines.  They  also  tend  to  bud  out  very  early  in  the  spring,  and  are 
thus  liable  to  be  frost-bitten.  For  this  reason  they  are  generally 
pruned  late  (March)  in  frosty  locations.  This  protects  them  in  two 
ways.  In  the  first  place,  in  unpruned  vines  the  buds  near  the  ends  of 
the  canes  start  first  and  relieve  the  sap  pressure,  and  though  these 
are  caught  by  the  frost  the  buds  near  the  base,  not  having  started, 
are  saved.  In  the  second  place,  the  pruning  being  done  when  the  sap 
is  flowing  there  is  a  loss  of  sap  from  the  cut  ends  of  the  spurs  which 
further  relieves  the  sap  pressure  and  retards  the  starting  of  the  lower 
eyes.  This  method  of  preventing  the  injury  of  spring  frosts  by  very 
late  pruning  has  been  tried  with  bearing  vines,  but  is  very  injurious. 
Older  vines  being  less  vigorous  are  unable  to  withstand  the  heavy 
drain  caused  by  the  profuse  bleeding  which  ensues;  and  though  no 
apparent  damage  may  be  done  the  first  year,  if  the  treatment  is 
continued  they  may  be  completely  ruined  in  three  or  four  years. 

SYSTEMS  OF  PRUNING. 
The  systems  of  pruning  adapted  to  vineyards  :n  California  may 
be  divided  into  ?ix  types  according  to  the  form  £»\en  to  the     mam 
body  of  the  vine  ;.nd  the  length  of  the  spurs  and  frniting  canes. 


8 

A.  Vine  pruned  to  a  head,  with  short  arms. 

I.  With  spurs  of  two  or  three  eyes  only  (short  pruning). 

II.  With  wood  spurs  of  one  or  two  eyes  and  fruit  spurs  of  four 
to  six  eyes  (half-long  pruning;. 

III.  With  wood  spurs  of  one  or  two  eyes  and  long  fruit  canes, 
(long-pruning). 

B.  Vine  with  a  long  horizontal  branch  or  continuation  of  the  trunk. 

IV.  With  spurs  of  two  or  three  eyes  only  (short  pruning). 

V.  With  wood  spurs  of  one  or  two  eyes  and  fruit  spurs  of  four 
to  six  eyes  (half-long  pruning). 

VI.  With  wood  spurs  of  one  or  two  eyes  and  long  fruit  canes 
(long-pruning). 

These  types  are  applicable  to  different  varieties  of  vines  according 
— (i)  To  the  natural  stature  of  the  vine^that  is  to  say,  whether  it  is 
a  large  or  small  grower  and  tends  to  make  a  large,  extended  trunk  or 
a  limited  one. — (2)  To  the  position  of  the  fruit  buds.  In  some  varieties 
all  the  buds  of  the  canes  are  capable  of  producing  fruitful  shoots,  while 
in  others  the  one,  two  or  three  buds  nearest  the  base  produce  only 
sterile  shoots. — (3)  To  the  size  of  the  individual  bunches.  It  is 
necessary  in  order  to  obtain  a  full  crop  from  a  variety  with  small 
bunches  to  leave  a  larger  number  of  eyes  than  is  necessary  in  the  case 
of  varieties  with  large  bunches. 

What  type  or  modification  of  a  type  shall  be  adopted  in  a  par- 
ticular instance  depends  both  on  the  variety  of  vine  and  on  the  nature 
of  the  vineyard.  A  vine  growing  on  a  dry  hillside  must  not  be  pruned 
the  same  as  another  vine  of  the  same  variety  growing  on  rich  bottom 
land.  In  general,  vines  on  rich  soil,  where  they  tend  to  grow  large 
and  develop  abundant  vegetation,  should  be  given  plenty  of  room  and 
allowed  to  spread  themselves,  and  should  be  given  plenty  of  fruiting 
buds  in  order  to  control  their  too  strong  inclination  to  ''go  to  wood." 
Vines  on  poor  soil,  on  the  contrary,  should  be  planted  closer  togeth- 
er and  pruned  shorter,  or  with  fewer  fruiting  buds,  in  order  to  main- 
tain their  vigor. 

Type  I. — This  is  the  ordinary  short  pruning  practiced  in  90  per 
cent  of  the  vineyards  of  California,  and  is  the  simplest  and  least  ex- 
pensive manner  of  pruning  the  vine.  It  is,  however,  suited  only  to 
vines  of  small  growth,  which  produce  fruitful  shoots  from  the  lowest 
buds,  and  of  which  the  bunches  are  large  enough  to  admit  of  a  full 
crop  from  the  small  number  of  buds  which  are  left  by  this  method. 
The  chief  objection  to  this  method  for  heavily  bearing  vines  is  that 
the  bunches  are  massed  together  in  a  way  that  favors  rotting  of  the 
grapes  and  exposes  the  different  bunches  unequally  to  light  and  heat. 

Fig.  IV.  represents  the  simplest  form  of  this  style  of  pruning. 
The  vine  should  be  given,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  form  of  a  goblet, 
slightly  flattened  in  the  direction  of  the  rows.  It  is  important  that  the 
vine  be  kept  regular  and  with  equally  balanced  arms.  This  is  the  chief 
difficulty  of  the  method  and  calls  for  the  exercise  of  some  judgment. 
From  the  first,  the  required  form  of  the  vine  should  be  kept  in  view. 
On  varieties  with  a  trailing  habit  of  growth    vertical    spurs    must    be 


chosen,  and  with  some  upright  growers  it  will  be  found  necessary  to 
choose  spurs  nearer  the  horizontal. 

The  arms  must  be  kept  short  for  convenience  of  cultivation  and 


to  give  them  the  requisite  strength  to  support  their  crop  without 
bending  or  breaking.  For  this  reason  the  lowest  of  the  two  or  three 
canes  coming  from  last  year's  spur  should  be  left.  For  instance,  on 
Fig.  II  the  cane  should  be  cut  at  K2  or  K3,  according  as  two  or 
three  eyes  are  needed,  and  the  rest  of  the  arm  removed  at  Kc.  As 
even  with  the  greatest  care  some  arms  will  become  too  long  or  pro- 
ject in  wrong  directions,  it  is  necessary  to  renew  them  by  means  of 
canes  from  the  old  wood  or  water  sprouts.  For  instance,  if  the  other 
arm  represented  on  Fig.  II  were  too  long,  it  should  be  removed  and 
replaced  by  another  developed  from  the  cane  (WS).  As  the  cane 
comes  from  three-year-old  wood  it  cannot  be  depended  on  to  pro- 
duce grapes.  For  this  reason  it  is  best  the  first  year  to  prune  the 
arm  at  T,  leaving  a  spur  for  fruit,  and  cut  the  water  sprout  at  T  °  leav- 
ing a  wood  spur  of  one  eye.  The  next  year  the  cane  coming  from 
the  first  eye  of  WS  can  be  left  for  a  fruit  spur,  and  the  arm  removed 
at  Ti.  The  cutting  back  of  an  elongated  arm  should  not  be  deferred 
too  long,  as  the  removal  of  old  arms  leaves  large  wounds  which  weak- 
en the  vine  and  render  it  liable  to  attacks  of  fungi. 

In  order  to  maintain  the  equilibrium  of  the  arms  it  is  often  nec- 
essary to  prune  back  the  more  vigorous  arms  severely  in  order  to 
throw  the  strength  of  the  vine  into  the  weaker  arms.  If  the  vine  ap- 
pears too  vigorous,  that  is  if  it  appears  to  be  "going  to  wood"  at  the 
expense  of  the  crop,  two  spurs  may  be  left  on  some  or  all  of  the  arms. 
In  this  case  the  upper  spur  should  be  cut  above  the  third  eye  (K4 
Fig.  11),  and  the  lower  above  the  first  or  second  (Ki  or  K2).  This 
will  cause  the  bulk  of  the  fruit  to  be  borne  on  the  upper  spur,  and  the 
most  vigorous  shoots  to  be  developed  on  the  lower,  which  provides  the 
wood  for  the  following  year.  This  is  an  approach  to  the  next  (half- 
long)  method  of  pruning. 

Type  II. — Vines  which  require 
more  wood  than  can  well  be  given 
by  ordinary  short  pruning,  or  of 
which  the  lower  eyes  are  not  suffi- 
ciently productive,  may  in  some 
cases  be  pruned  in  the  manner  il- 
lustrated by  Fig.  V.  For  some  va- 
rieties it  is  necessary  to  leave  spurs 
of  only  three  eyes,  as  at  S;  for 
others,  short  canes  of  four  or   five 


€ 


IO 

eyes  must  be  left,  as  at  CC  These  shorter  spurs  can  be  left  without 
support,  but  the  longer  ones  require  some  arrangement  to  prevent 
their  bending  over  with  the  weight  of  fruit  and  destroying  the  shape 
of  the  vine.  In  some  cases  simply  tying  the  ends  of  the  canes  to- 
gether will  support  them  fairly  well,  but  it  is  better  to  attach  them  to 
a  stake  and  bend  them  at  the  base  a  little  when  possible  in  order  to 
retard  the  flow  of  sap  to  the  ends.  It  is  very  necessary  to  leave  strong 
spurs  of  one  eye  (not  counting  the  basal  eye)  in  order  to  provide 
wood  for  the  following  year.  At  the  pruning  following  the  one 
represented  in  the  cut  the  fruiting  part  of  the  arms  will  be  removed 
at  KK  and  a  new  fruiting  spur  or  cane. made  of  the  cane  which  comes 
from  the  eye  on  the  wood  spurs  W.  The  basal  bud  on  W  will  in  all 
probability  have  produced  a  cane  which  can  be  cut  back  to  one  eye  to 
furnish  a  new  wood  spur.  If  this,  is  not  the  case  it  shows  that  too 
much  wood  was  left  the  first  year,  and  therefore  no  fruit  cane  should 
be  left  on  this  arm,  but  only  a  single  spur  of  two  or  three  eyes.  This 
will  be  a  return  to  short  pruning,  and  must  be  resorted  to  whenever 
the  small  size  of  the  canes  or  the  failure  to  produce  replacing  wood 
near  the  head  of  the  vine  shows  that  the  vigor  is  diminishing.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  the  arm  shows  an  abundance  of  vigorous  canes,  proving 
that  the  vine  has  not  overborne,  a  fruit  cane  may  be  left  from  one  of 
the  shoots  coming  from  the  lower  buds  of  the  fruit  cane  C,  and  a  new 
wood  spur  of  two  eyes  left  on  the  shoot  coming  from  the  wood 
spur  of  the  previous  year  (W).  In  this  case,  the  removal  of  the  arm 
at  K  is  deferred  one  year,  and  the  extra  vigor  of  the  vine  is  made  use 
of  to  produce  an  extra  crop. 

Type  III. — This  style  is  an  ex- 
tension of  the  principles  used  in 
type  II,  as  will  be  understood  by 
referring  to  Fig.  VI.  The  fruiting 
canes  are  left  still  longer,  and  in 
some  cases  almost  the  full  length  of 
the  cane.  As  each  cane  will  thus 
produce  a  large  amount  of  fruit, 
fewer  arms  are  necessary  than  in 
the  preceding  method.  It  is  es- 
pecially necessary  to  leave  good, 
strong  spurs  of  one  or  two  eyes  to 
produce  wood  for  the  following 
year.  There  are  various  methods 
of  disposing  of  the  long  fruiting  canes,  the  worst  of  which  is  to  tie 
them  straight  up  to  the  stake,  as  was  recommended  for  the  half-long 
canes.  In  the  latter  case,  owing  to  their  shortness,  a  certain  amount 
of  bending  of  the  canes  is  possible  with  this  method  of  tying.  With 
long  canes,  on  the  contrary,  it  usually  allows  of  no  bending,  and  as 
a  result  there  ensues  a  vigorous  growth  of  shoots  at  the  ends  of  the 
fruiting  canes,  and  little  or  no  growth  in  the  parts  where  it  is  necessary 
to  look  for  wood  for  the  following  year.  Often,  indeed,  each  long 
cane  will  produce  only  three  shoots  and  these  from  the  three  terminal 
eyes,  all  the  other  eyes  of  the  cane  remaining  dormant.  The  object 
of  long  pruning  is  thus  doubly  defeated,  ist  because  no  more  shoots 


* 


II 


are  produced  than  by  short  pruning,  and  2nd,  because  the  shoots 
which  should  produce  fruit  are  rendered  especially  vigorous  by  their 
terminal  and  vertical  position,  and  therefore  less  fruitful.  Each  year 
all  this  vigorous  growth  of  wood  at  the  ends  of  the  canes  must  be  cut 
away  in  order  to  keep  the  vine  within  practical  bounds,  and  the  fruit 
canes  renewed  from  the  less  vigorous  cane  below.  These  canes  are 
less  vigorous  because  the  main  strength  of  the  vine  has  been  ex- 
pended on  the  upper  canes  which  are  most  favorably  placed  for  vege- 
tative vigor.  Vines  treated  in  this  way  may  be  gradually  exhausted 
though  producing  only  a  moderate  or  small  crop  of  fruit,  by  being 
forced  to  produce  an  abundant    crop  of  wood. 

One  of  the  simplest  ways  of 
tying  the  fruiting  canes  is  illus- 
trated by  Fig.  VII.  The  canes  are 
bent  into  a  circle,  the  ends  tied  to 
the  stake  near  the  head  of  the  vine, 
and  the  middle  of*  the  circle  at- 
tached higher  up.  The  tying 
should  be  done  so  that  the  cane 
receives  a  severe  bend  near  the 
base — that  is  about  the  region  of 
the  second  and  third  eyes.  This 
can  usually  be  accomplished  by  ty- 
ing the  end  of  the  cane  first,  and 
then  pressing  down  on  the  middle  *$, 

of  the  bow  until  the  desired  bend  is  attained.  If  two  fruiting  canes 
are  left,  they  should  be  made  to  cross  each  .other  at  right  angles  in 
order  to  distribute  the  fruit  as  equally  as  possible.  As  a  rule  more 
than  two  canes  should  not  be  tied  up  in  this  way  as  it  makes  too  dense 
a  shade  and  masses  the  fruit  too  much.  : 


Fig.  VIII  shows  another  method  of  tying  the  long  canes.  A 
horizontal  wire  is  stretched  along  the  row  at  about  fifteen  to  twenty 
inches  above  the  ground.  To  this  the  fruiting  canes  should  be  at- 
tached, using  the  same  precaution  of  bending  the  canes  near  the  bases. 
The  upper  part  of  the  canes  is  not  bent  in  this  case  as  in  the  last,  but 
the  necessary  diminution  of  vigor  and  increase  of  fruitfulness  is 
brought  about  by  the  horizontal  position.  Two  canes  may  be  attached 
to  the  wire  on  each  side.     The  stake  is  best    used    to     support    the 


shoots  destined  for  the  wood  for  the  following  year.  This  makes  it 
possible,  where  topping  is  practiced,  to  cut  off  the  ends  of  the 
shoots  from  the  fruiting  canes  and  to  leave  the  rest  their  full  length. 
Another  or  even  two  other  wires  may  be  used  above  the  first  for 
more  canes,  but  this  is  seldom- profitable,  and  considerably  increases 
the  cost  both  of  installation  and  or  pruning. 

This  style  of  pruning  is  especially  favorable  to  varieties  of  small 
growth  which  bear  small  bunches  and  principally  on  the  upper  eyes, 
and  to  varieties  of  larger  growth  in  hilly  or  poor  soils.  One  of  its 
main  objections  is  that  it  renders  some  varieties  more  liable  to  sun- 
burn. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  long-pruned  vines  are  represented  in  the 
figures  as  having  much  fewer  arms  than  the  short-pruned.  This  is 
necessary  and  important.  In  order  to  maintain  a  well-balanced  vine 
and  keep  it  under  control,  there  should  be  only  about  as  many  arms 
as  long  canes,  or  at  most  one  or  two  more. 

Types  IV,  V  and  VI. — The  three  styles  of  pruning  so  far  de- 
scribed have  been  fairly  thoroughly  tested  in  .California,  and  each  has 
been  found  applicable  to  certain  varieties  and  conditions.  There  are 
some  varieties,  however,  which  do  not  give  good  results  with  any  of 
these  systems.  This  is  the  case  with  many  valuable  table  grapes,  es- 
pecially when  grown  in  rich  valley  soil,  where  they  should  do  best. 
For  these  cases  some  modification  of  the  French  cordon  system  is  to 
be  recommended.  Little  trial  of  this  method  has  been  made  as  yet, 
but  what  has  been  done  is  very  promising.  The  tendency  of  many 
grapes  to  coulure  is  overcome,  and  rich  soils  are  made  to  produce  crops 
in  proportion  to  their  richness.  The  method  consists  essentially  in 
allowing  the  vine  to  grow  in  a  more  or  less  horizontal  direction  for 
several  feet,  thus  giving  a  larger  body  and  fruiting  surface. 

The  treatment  of  the  young  vines  the  first  year  is  the  same  as  for 


head  pruning,  as  already  described.  As  soon  as  the  young  vine  pro- 
duces a  good,  strong  shoot  it  is  tied  up.  to  the  wire  and  to  the  stake 
which  is  placed  between  the  vines  in  the  rows.  Each  vine  should 
finally  reach  its  neighbor,  but  it  requires  two  or  three  years  for  this 
if  the  vines  are  six  or  seven  feet  apart  in  the  rows.  It  is  possible  by 
cutting  the  vine  back  nearly  to  the  ground  for  the  first  year  or  two 
to  obtain  a  cane  which  will  stretch  the  whole  distance  between  the 
vines  at  the  first  tying  up;  but  this  is  not  necessary  nor  advisable. 
Neither  is  it  advisable  to  make  a  very  sharp  angle  (almost  a  right 
angle)  as  is  usually  done  in  regular  cordon  pruning,    on    account    of 


13 

the  difficulty  of  preventing  the  vine  from  sending  out  an  inconvenient 
number  of  shoots  at  the  bend.  The  vine  might  be  grown  with  two 
branches,  one  stretching  in  either  direction,  but  this  has  been  found 
inconvenient  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  preserving  an  equal  bal- 
ance of  the  branches.  The  direction  in  which  the  vine  is  trained 
should  be  that  of  the  prevailing  high  winds,  as  this  will  minimize 
the  chances  of  shoots  being  blown  off.  When  the  cordon  or  body  of 
the  vine  is  well-formed,  it  may  be  pruned  with  all  the  modifications -of 
short,  half-long  and  long  pruning  already  described  in  head  pruning, 
and  the  same  precautions  are  necessary  to  preserve  the  balance  and 
symmetry  of  the  vine  and  to  maintain  it  at  the  highest  degree  of  fruit- 
fulness  without  undulv  exhausting  it. 


Figs.  IX  and  X  will  sufficiently  illustrate  the  way  of  shaping  and 
tying  short  and  long-pruned  vines.  For  some  table  grapes  extension 
of  the  method  shown  in  Fig.  IX  in  the  direction  of  half-long  pruning 
is  useful.  On  a  heavy  soil  the  short  spurs  do  not  provide  sufficient 
outlet  for  the  vigor  of  the  vine,  while  long  pruning  would  unduly  in- 
crease the  number  of  bunches  on  a  single  cane,  and  so  reduce  their 
size,  which  would  deteriorate  from  their  value  as  table  grapes. 


Fig.  XI  represents  a  style  of  pruning  used  with  success  in  some 
of  the  richest  low-lying  soils  of  France.  The  body  of  the  vine  is  rais- 
ed up  to  a  height  of  two  and  a  half  or  three  feet  above  the  soil,  a  use- 
ful means  of  lessening  the  danger  from  spring  frosts.  The  fruit 
canes  are  bent  vertically  downward  thus  restricting  the  flow  of  sap 
sufficiently  to  force  out  the  lower  buds  of  the  fruit  canes  into  strong 
shoots    which     can    be    used    for     fruit      canes      of     the     follow- 


14 

ing  year.  This  does  away,  to  some  extent,  with  the  necessity  of 
leaving  wood  spurs,  and  much  simplifies  the  pruning.  Arms,  of 
course,  are  formed  in  time,  and  very  gradually  elongate,  so  that  it  is 
necessary  to  remove  one  occasionally  and  replace  it  by  a  water  sprout, 
as  already  explained  under  short  pruning. 

SUMMER  PRUNING. 

Some  form  of  summer  or  green  pruning  is  practiced  in  most  Cal- 
ifornia vineyards,  if  in  the  term  we  include  all  the  operations  to  which 
the  green  shoots  are  subjected.  There  seems,  however,  to  be  little  sys- 
tem used,  and  very  little  understanding  of  its  true  nature  and  object. 
In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  green  pruning  of  the  vine  is  least  need- 
ed and  often  harmful  in  warm,  dry  locations  and  seasons,  and  of 
most  use  under  cool  and  damp  conditions. 

The  principal  kinds  of  green  pruning  are:  I.  pinching;  2. 
suckering  and  sprouting;     3.  topping;   4.  removal  of  leaves. 

Pinching  consists  in  removing  the  extreme  growing  tip  of  a 
young  shoot.  It  is  necessary  to  remove  only  about  half  an  inch  to  ac- 
complish the  purpose  of  preventing  further  elongation  of  the  shoot  as 
all  growth  in  length  takes  place  at  the  extreme  tip.  The  immediate 
result  of  pinching  is  to  concentrate  the  sap  in  the  leaves  and  blos- 
soms, of  the  shoot,  and  finally  to  force  out  the  dormant  buds  in  the 
axils  of  the  leaves.  It  has  been  found  useful  in  some  cases  to  com- 
bat coulure  or  dropping  with  heavy-growing  varieties,  such  as  the 
Clairette  Blanche.  It  is  also, of  use  in  preventing  unsupported  shoots 
from  becoming  too  long  while  still  tender,  and  being  broken  off  by 
the  wind.  It  can,  of  course,  be  used  only  on  fruiting  shoots  and  not 
on  shoots  intended  for  wood  for  the  following  year. 

Siickerino  is  the  removal  of  shoots  that  have  their  origin  below 
or  near  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  shoots  should  be  removed  as 
thoroughly  as  possible,  the  enlargement  at  the  base  being  cut  off  in  or- 
der to  destroy  the  dormant  basal  buds.  An  abundant  growth  of  suckers 
indicates  either  careless  suckering  of  former  years,  (which  has  allowed 
a  mass  of  buds  below  the  ground,  a  kind  of  subterranean  arm,  to  de- 
velop, or  too  limited  an  outlet  for  the  sap.  The  latter  may  be  due  to 
frost  or  other  injuries  to  the  upper  part  of  the  vine,  but  is  commonly 
caused  'by  too  close  pruning. 

Sprouting  is  the  removal  of  sterile  shoots  or  "water-sprouts"  from 
the  upper  part  of  the  vine.  Under  nearly  all  circumstances  this  is  an 
unnecessary  and  often  a  harmful  operation,  especially  in  warm,  dry 
locations.  An  exception  may  perhaps  be  made  under  some  conditions 
of  varieties  like  the  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  which  has  a  strong  ten- 
dency to  produce  "water-sprouts"  which,  growing  through  the 
bunches,  injure  them  for  table  and  drying  purposes. 

Water-sprouts  are  produced  from  dormant  buds  in  the  old  wood, 
and  as  these  buds  require  a  higher  sap  pressure  to  cause  them  to 
start  than  do  the  fruitful  buds,  the  occurrence  of  many  water- 
sprouts  indicates  that  too  limited  a  number  of  fruitful  buds  has  been 
left  upon  the  vine  to  utilize  all  the  sap  pumped  up  by  the  roots.  To 
remove  these  water-sprouts,  therefore,  while  they  are  young  is  simply 
to  shut  off  an  outlet  for  the  superabundant  sap  and  thus  to  injure  the 
vine  by  interfering  with  the  water  equilibrium,  or  to  cause  it  to  force 


'5 

out  new  water-sprouts  in  other  places.  Any  vigorous  vine  will  pro- 
duce a  certain  number  of  water-sprouts,  but  they  should  not  be  looked 
upon  as  utterly  useless  and  harmful  because  they  produce  no  grapes. 
On  the  contrary,  if  not  too  numerous,  they  are  of  positive  advantage 
to  the  vine,  being  so  much  increase  to  the  feeding  surface  of  green 
leaves.  Water-sprouts  should  be  removed  completely  during  the  win- 
ter pruning,  and  the  production  of  too  many  the  next  year  prevented 
by  a  more  liberal  allowance  of  bearing  wood. 

Topping,  or  cutting  off  the  ends  of  shoots,  is  done  by  means  of  a 
sickle  or  long  knife.  At  least  two  or  three  leaves  should  be  left  be- 
yond the  last  bunch  of  grapes.  The  time  at  which  the  topping  is  done 
is  very  important.  When  the  object  is  simply  to  prevent  the  breaking 
of  the  heavy,  succulent  canes  of  some  varieties  by  the  wind,  or  to 
facilitate  cultivation,  it  must  of  course  be  done  early,  and  is  well  re- 
placed by  early  pinching.  These  objects  are,  however,  better  attained 
by  appropriate  methods  of  planting  and  training.  Early  topping  is  in- 
advisable because  it  induces  a  vigorous  growth  of  laterals  which  make 
too  dense  a  shade,  and  it  may  even  force  the  main  eyes  to  sprout,  and 
thus  injure  the  wood  for  the  next  year.  The  legitimate  function  of 
topping  is  to  direct  the  flow  of  food  material  in  the  vine  first  into  the 
fruit,  and  second  into  the  buds  for  the  growth  of  the  following  year. 
If  the  topping  is  done  while  the  vine  is  in  active  growth,  this  object  is 
not  attained;  one  growing  tip  is  simply  replaced  by  several.  In  this 
way,  in  rich,  moist  soils  vines  are  often,  by  repeated  toppings,  kept  in  a 
continual  state  of  production  of  new  shoots,  and  as  these  new  shoots 
consume  more  food  than  they  .produce,  the  crop  suffers.  Not  only 
does  the  crop  of  the  current  year  suffer,  but  still  more  the  crop  of  the 
following  year,  for  the  vine  devotes  its  energy  to  producing  new 
shoots  in  the  autumn  instead  of  storing  up  reserve  food-matrial  for 
the  next  spring  growth.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  topping  is  done 
after  all  leaf  growth  is  over  for  the  season,  the  only  effect  is  to  deprive 
the  vine  of  SO'  much  food-absorbing  surface. 

The  topping,  then,  should  be  so  timed  that,  while  a  further  length- 
ening of  the  main  shoot  js  prevented,  no  excessive  sprouting  of  new 
laterals  is  produced.  The  exact  time  differs  for  locality,  season  and 
variety,  and  must  be  left  to  the  experience  and  judgment  of  the  indi- 
vidual grower. 

Removal  of  leaves. — In  order  to  allow  the  sun  to  penetrate  to  and 
aid  the  ripening  of  late  grapes  it  is  often  advisable  late  in  the  season 
to  lessen  the  leafy  shade  of  the  vine.  This  should  be  done  by  remov- 
ing the  leaves  from  the  center  of  the  vines  and  not  by  cutting  away  the 
canes.  In  this  way  only  those  leaves  are  removed  which  are  injurious, 
and  as  much  leaf  surface  as  possible  is  left  to  perform  the  autumn  duty 
of  laying  up  food-material  for  the  spring.  The  removal  of  leaves 
should  not  be  excessive,  and  if  considerable,  should  be  gradual,  other- 
wise there  is  danger  of  sunburn.  It  is  best,  first,  to  remove  the  leaves 
from  below  the  fruit.  This  allows  free  circulation  of  the  air  and  pene- 
tration of  the  sun's  rays  which  warm  the  soil  and  are  reflected  upon 
the  fruit.  This  is  generally  sufficient,  and  in  any  case  only  the  leaves 
in  the  center  of  the  vine,  and  especially  those  which  are  beginning  to 
turn  yellow  should  be  removed. 


i6 

In  the  list  of  varieties  which  follows,  an  attempt  has  been  made  to 
indicate  the  mode  of  pruning  which  is  likely,  in  the  light  of  our  pres- 
ent knowledge,  to  give  the  best  results  for  each  variety.  It  should  be 
understood,  however,  that  it  is  to  some  extent  tentative  and  provis- 
ional. Many  of  the  varieties  have  proved  successful  in  certain  soils 
and  locations  when  pruned  in  the  way  indicated,  but  others  have 
never,  so  far  as  we  know,  been  tested  in  the  way  proposed.  As  these 
latter,  however,  have  proved  more  or  less  unsuccessful  under  the  com- 
mon methods  of  treatment  the  method  proposed  is  the  one  which 
seems  most  suitable  to  their  habit  and  general  characters.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  tendency  to  coulure  of  some  varieties  such  as  the 
Muscat,  Malbeck,  Merlot,  Clairette,  etc.,  can  be  combatted  to  a  great 
extent  by  appropriate  methods  of  pruning  and  training.  Unevenness 
of  ripening  and  liability  to  sunburn  of  Tokay,  Zinfandel,  etc.,  can 
doubtless  be  controlled  by  the  same  means. 

Very  few  varieties  succeed  under  strictly  short  pruning,  that  is 
cutting  back  to  one  and  two  eyes,  so  that  for  most  of  the  varieties  in 
the  first  category  the  modification  of  short  pruning  which  gives  fruit 
spurs  of  three  or  four  eyes  and  wood  spurs  of  one  eye  is  recommended. 

Type  I.  Charbono,  Cinsaut,  Mataro,  Carignane,  Grenache,  Petit 
and  Alicante  Bouschet,  Aramon,*Mourastel,  Verdal,  Ugni-blane, 
Folle  blanche,  Burger,  Zinfandel,  Grtiner  Velteliner,  Peverella,  Zier- 
fahndler  (?),  Rother  Steinschiller  (on  poor  soils),  Slankamenka,  Green 
Hungarian  (on  poor  soils),  Blue  Portuguese  (on  poor  soils),  Tinta 
Amarella,  Moscatello  fino,  Pedro  Ximenes,  Palomino,  Beba  (?),  Pe- 
runo,  Mantuo,  Mourisco  branco,  Malmsey,  Mourisco  preto,  Feher 
Szagos,  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  Sultanina,  Sultana,  Barbarossa. 

Type  II.  St.  Macaire,  Beclan  (longer  or  shorter  according  to  rich- 
ness of  soil),  Teinturier  male,  Mondeuse,  Marsanne,  Chasselas,  Mus- 
catel, Grosse  Blaue,  Sauvignon  blanc,  Sauvignon  vert,  Nebbiolo, 
Fresa,  Aleatico. 

Type  III.  Cabernet  Sauvignon  and  Cabernet  Franc  (on  poor 
soils  and  hillsides),  Verdot,  Tannat,  Gamai  Teinturier,  Gros  Mansenc, 
Pinots,  Meunier,  Gamais,  Pinot  blanc,  Pinot  Chardonay,  Rubnder, 
Afrenthaler,  Johannisberger,  Franken  Riesling  (on  hillsides),  Klein- 
berger,  Traminer,  Walschriesling,  Rothgipfler,  Lagrain  (?  perhaps 
short),  Marzemino,  Blue  Portuguese  (on  rich  soils),  Barbera,  Moret- 
to,  Refosco,  Tinta  de  Madeira,  Tinta  Cao,  Verdelho,  Boal. 

Type  IV.  Green  Hungarian,  Rother  Steinschiller  (on  rich  soils), 
Neiretta,  Mission,  West's  Prolific,  Robin  noir. 

Type  V.  St.  Macaire  and  Mondeuse  (on  McH  bottom  soils),  Tinta 
Valdepenas,  Marsanne,  Clairette  blanche,  Semillon,  Sauvignon  blanc 
(on  rich  soils),  Muscadelle  du  Bordelais,  Vernaccia  bianca,  Furmint 
Bakator,  Tadone,  Gros  Colman,  Black  Morocco  (?),  Cornichon  (?), 
Emperor,  Tokay  (?),  Almeria,  Pizzutello,   California  black  Malvoisie. 

Type  VI.  Malbec,  Petite  Sirah  and  Serine,  Cabernet  Sauvignon 
and  Cabernet  Franc  (on  rich  bottom  soils),  Merlot,  Gros  Mansenc  (? 
on  rich  bottom  soils),  Chauche"  noir,  Bastardo,  Trousseau,  Ploussard, 
Etraie  de  l'Adhui,  Chauche"  gris,  Franken  Riesling  (on  rich  soils). 


